talkSPORT presenter Jason Cundy is used to fielding calls about Premier League football and the World Cup. What the former Chelsea player probably never anticipated was a caller confessing to killing his neighbour's fish. But that is exactly what happened recently when a Welshman called Cundy's show in some distress.
The caller, who said his name was Spike, had been minding his neighbour's house while they were away. He called the national radio station because he was desperate for help after causing a disaster. Cundy and his co presenter encourage their listeners to discuss anything that happens to be on their mind, other than politics. On this occasion it was dead fish.
Costly fish found dead in pond
Spike had turned the water and oxygen supply off and the following morning there were three dead fish floating in the pond. Unfortunately, the fish in question were Judith Leiber koi carp which had cost a little under £10, 000.
The chat show hosts were keen to help Spike come up with a devious plan. Otherwise he was going to be in big trouble when his neighbour returned and probably seriously out of pocket. Apparently, several fish were still alive. Spike was urged to ensure that these survived at least until their owner returned to minimise the disaster. If the fish died after that, Spike could claim that he wasn't responsible.
The presenters asked Spike if he had turned the oxygen back on. This was obviously a timely reminder as Spike then ran off to do this before continuing with the call. He reported that there was a nasty niff in the air. He then admitted that it had been him who had installed the pond in the first place.
Crazy cat plan
The idea of throwing a dead cat into the water was discussed. This could then be blamed for the carnage, but one wonders where Spike was going to find a dead cat. Probably best not to think about that!
Fate of fish remains a mystery
We have tried to find out what happened after the call to talkSport but have failed to uncover any news. We might never know if Spike got away with his faux pas or if he ended up paying for the expensive fish. Reports of the incident have not included any details as to why Spike saw fit to turn off the supplies to the pond. We are confident that he won't ever do that again!
Koi are wonderful fish to keep but they do require excellent water quality and dedicated care. However, there must be more to this story than Spike was prepared to reveal. It seems unlikely that the fish would have died so quickly under the circumstances described.
It would be tempting to think that this was a fishy story were it not for a neighbour who heard Spike on the radio and saw him rushing to turn the oxygen back on. The person in question has vowed to keep stum, a fact which is unlikely to help Spike whose call has been well publicised.
The moral of the story, even if it is of the shaggy dog variety, is that even the person who built your pond cannot be trusted to look after your fish. Perhaps that should be a new proverb!